


I’m glad to have met you.

by not_aamna



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Multi, Series, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_aamna/pseuds/not_aamna
Summary: Heyo! Here’s my somewhat ambitious hope for an Eren/reader series that I’ve been really wanting to make! It’s gonna be a slowburn fic with multiple chapters where I try to create an organic relationship between Eren and the reader, featuring other characters, friendships and more! :>
Relationships: Eren Yeager & Reader, Eren Yeager/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	I’m glad to have met you.

You brought your hand up to your own face, cheek resting in the palm of your right hand. The wish to sleep attacked you, but you shoved it away from yourself; training was  _ way  _ more important, and the embarrassment of dozing off would probably kill you before any titan would - that, or the Head Instructor’s soul-piercing death glare. You didn’t know which would be worse, but you told yourself that it was probably best not to find out. 

Your gaze fell onto the two figures to your right - you hadn’t been close to Jean nor Marco (although the two were certainly close with each other), but it was nice to see a couple of familiar faces around. It was comforting, even. Marco was always polite to you, and Jean had expressed a similar sort of sentiment to you about coming from the same hometown. You reciprocated, but what you really wanted was to have some close friends of your own. Just like the three people who sat opposite you at this breakfast table… Mikasa, Armin and Eren. Training had barely even started, but you could already tell that the three shared an unspeakable bond, as if they were a set of triplets (albeit, with very distinct personalities amongst them). Currently it was Armin who was speaking, hands outstretched in a subdued sort of excitement. Despite his meek demeanour, a small fire was lit in his eyes - he was talking about the 3D manoeuvre gear. His excitement was definitely warranted, you thought, as watching the other soldiers had you in complete awe. Mikasa, however, was sitting in silence, staring into her soup. For a moment you wondered if this was a ruse for sleeping with her eyes open, until she finally brought her spoon up to her mouth. Still, you were glad to not be the only tired one around.

And then there was Eren. You didn’t know too much about him either, but you  _ had  _ been witness to his incessant shouting. Right now, however, he was silent, tearing into a heel of bread with a blank expression. You wanted to know what thoughts were lurking behind those large, teal eyes. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps: breakfast was over, and combat training was in session.

You had never fought before.

Butterflies swarmed within your stomach. For someone who wanted to be a soldier, you were a  _ massive  _ scaredy-cat when it came to fighting. Your head began to spin, yet you steadied yourself as you got up and made your way along with the other trainees towards the combat training area. It was hand-to-hand time, and you weren’t eager about it. 

Deep within the pit of your stomach, you hoped that you’d be paired with a girl - and you were. Joy swept over you for a moment, but it soon fizzled out once you realised who you were up against. You’d take a fight with Reiner over this any day. Hell, at least Reiner would probably go easy on y-

“Hey.” Mikasa’s voice was low and somewhat soft, with an underlying sense of determination. 

“H-Hey!” You replied, your voice trembling with nervousness. Of all people, this was the last one that you would ever want to get into a fight with. Her aura was immensely intimidating.

“Ready to go?” She asked.

You nodded.

The next few hours of training were gruelling, but you stuck with Mikasa as your partner. Despite being absolutely terrifying, she was surprisingly sympathetic towards you - perhaps because you hadn’t goaded her at all like some of the others had done - and was happy to slow down and teach you what she knew. You were thankful, but exhausted. Your body wasn’t able to keep up with her capabilities at all.  _ You wondered if you’d ever be able to call yourself a soldier when your physical ability was this subpar.  _

At this point, breathing felt like such a chore. All that you wanted was for the session to finish, hoping you would be able to catch your breath at lunch. Your chest hurt, but you took the time to attempt to regulate your breathing as much as possible whilst Mikasa walked over to accept a challenge from one of the other trainees.  _ At least I have a moment to myself… _ you thought.

You turned, and as you did, Connie Springer’s right heel went straight into your stomach, literally kicking the air right out of you. A bemused Annie looked from behind him - she’d  _ thrown _ him, although she clearly hadn’t looked to see  _ where  _ she was doing the throwing. And speaking of throwing, the only thing your body seemed to want to do was throw  _ up _ for a second. You held in the nausea, but before the bald (and very panicked) young man could ask you if you were okay, you were out cold.

You woke up in the infirmary, surprised to see a small group of people around you. There were five in total, all members of your trainee squad.

Annie spoke first, her words surprisingly sincere in tone. “I should have watched what I was doing. I’m… really sorry for that.” She looked away for a moment, and you had to wonder if the seemingly cold and standoffish Annie had just been shy. 

Before you could reply, Connie also broke into the conversation. “I had no idea!” He cried, placing his hands together as if they were in prayer, literally begging for your forgiveness. “I’m so,  _ so  _ sorry! I never meant to hurt you or anything, but it’s probably my fault for asking to take Annie on like that… if I hadn’t tried to get her to fight me, you wouldn’t be in this state.”

You sat up in one of the infirmary beds, your stomach throbbing. You winced.

“It’s quite alright, Connie. I know you didn’t mean it.” You smiled, hoping it would numb the pain at least  _ somewhat _ . Being knocked out on the first day of training probably made you look like an idiot.

You looked over at Mikasa, who was accompanied by the usual Eren and Armin. She spoke first, in her usual soft-yet-determined-sounding tone.

“Does it hurt?” She asked.

You shook your head, but secretly you were grinding your teeth. Yes, yes it did hurt. “N-No!” you replied, your voice trembling yet again in its usual quivery fashion. You were a terrible liar. 

Eren tilted his head slightly. “That’s a lie.”

Your eyes widened slightly, then shut as if to attempt to conceal their surprise. This had been in vain, as Armin let out a nervous chuckle. 

“It’s okay if it hurts, you know. They’re teaching us how to look after our equipment for the rest of the afternoon, so you should use this opportunity to take it easy.” 

You replied with a nod, letting out a sigh. “So, did I miss lunch?”

The answer had been “no”. And thank goodness, too - you had only had breakfast a few hours prior, but your stomach was already begging for some sustenance. You took the chance to sit by the trio who had been present at your bedside earlier, hoping to make some new friends. Mikasa had already been rather nice to you, and Armin seemed easy to get along with. Eren Jaeger, however…

You just didn’t really  _ understand _ him. The way his expressions flitted between blank and determined and full of anger, the way his eyes burned as if he was in constant pain... Why was he like that? It was intriguing for sure, but something inside you knew that it was for the best not to ask, recalling some sort of saying your mother had told you about not poking sleeping bears. Something like that. His eyes were beautiful, though. Great, big pools of green and blue, almost like…

A small chuckle escaped your throat. What a silly thought, examining your comrade’s eyes so intently. 

Armin tilted his head towards you. “What are you laughing about?” 

“Ah, no. It’s nothing. I was just thinking about my parents, back home. Do you ever think about yours? I mean, you must miss your family, right?”

Before Armin (the person you had  _ actually  _ asked) could reply, Eren cut in sternly.

“They’re gone.”

“Gone..?” 

“Dead.”

You searched his face. Once more, his eyes carried that burning look…

Mikasa frowned. “Eren, that’s...”

“I’m telling the truth!” He responded.

She sighed. “That isn’t how you talk to others.”

A bead of sweat dripped down Armin’s brow. “I’m sorry about Eren, he’s just…”

Ah. Now you remembered. They were all from Shiganshina, weren’t they?

You looked up and smiled. You don’t know why you did - this wasn’t a happy conversation. You were just trying to soften the moment, you told yourself. Probably. It was awkward for sure, and you really couldn’t tell whether it was your stomach or your heart that was hurting now. 

You spoke gently, wanting to sympathise with them. “I… I’m sorry. I should have remembered that you were all from Shiganshina…” 

Silence fell upon the table as the rest of you finished your meals, and your head spun. You should have known. You felt so awkward. You worried if this was the end of your budding friendship with your comrades already, and this worry plagued you for the rest of the day. During the equipment safety tests, whilst learning how to fill up your gas tanks, learning how to care for your blades… Day 1 was not a good time to start having anxiety. Not at all.

——————————————————————————————————

The days that followed were not as eventful as the first, and you soon fell into a routine of combat training, weapon safety classes, trying to stand in that terrible 3D manoeuvre gear rig…

You also began to feel somewhat closer to your fellow trainees, and were now able to make small talk with most of them. There was nobody in particular you disliked or that disliked you, you were simply there. Sometimes being in the background like that worried you, but your comrades made sure that nobody was ever left behind. Despite all this, though, you held a longing in your heart to get close to  _ someone _ . Anyone. Because being surrounded by people willing to tolerate you wasn’t going to solve the vast loneliness (with a pinch of homesickness) in your heart.

By the time winter had come, it was time for night training. Since titans wouldn’t move freely during the night, trainees would have to get used to going on expeditions regardless of the weather. Dread attacked you from within (just like it had on the first day of hand-to-hand combat training). Although you had gotten somewhat stronger, you still weren’t confident about your physical capabilities - especially in comparison to your peers. But here you were, in the middle of a blizzard, carrying what felt like the heaviest backpack in the world. If your body gave out here, you were dead. No do-overs.

You felt the cool air on your face, huddling yourself into your coat. They had given you a size too large, but you were honestly grateful for the additional fur that lined it. As long as you didn’t trip over, that is. 

The cohort had split into groups, and you were travelling with five others - Mikasa, Armin, Marco, Jean and Eren. For safety purposes you had all decided to move in pairs, with Marco and Jean at the front, Mikasa and Armin in the middle and you and Eren at the back. This was mainly so that Eren and Jean wouldn’t try to punch each other in the middle of a snowstorm and kill everyone in the process, as well as so Mikasa could keep an eye on Armin, who was struggling just as much as you with carrying his backpack. 

Standing beside Eren Jaeger, however, was kind of daunting. 

You looked over at him. He looked very concentrated, almost as if he was about to space out. You couldn’t tell if the look on his face was one of concern, determination or apathy, but you studied it all the same. As you were in the process of doing so, his gaze turned towards you. You jumped, averting your eyes.

“Is something wrong?” He asked inquisitively, attempting to hide his usual brash tone as much as possible. He had noticed how you would interact with other people first before ever talking to him, and had come to the conclusion that you were avoiding him because you were afraid. Maybe it was because he yelled too much, but he was trying to tone it down. If it really was the case that you were scared, then that would bother him, he thought. 

You pulled your hood around yourself tightly, avoiding his gaze. “No… it’s nothing.”

As usual, the brunet could see right through you. “Why do you do that?” He asked. 

A sudden frustration peaked within you. “Do… what?”

“That. Act like nothing bothers you. If you keep doing that you’ll just end up exploding eventually.”

“It’s not like the rest of us can be like you, Jaeger.” You responded, your voice taking on a cooler tone that had even surprised Eren. 

“Do you want to be like me?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Do you always ask this many questions?”

“No, not usually.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “So why were you staring at me?”

You gave in, deciding not to drag it out. He clearly wasn’t going to let up. “Because I can’t ever tell what you’re  _ truly _ thinking, or feeling.”

A short silence hung over the two of you before the young man was able to think of a reply. “I was thinking… that you look lonely.”

Heat rose to your face, partially in shock and partially with embarrassment. Your mouth opened slightly, then shut itself as you pursed your lips together, speechless. 

He continued, relentlessly stripping you of your defences in the process. “You do all that because you’re lonely, right? Not wanting to fight with anyone, always smiling at everyone…”

You looked at your feet. “Why do you care so much?”

“Maybe I don’t. I’m just curious, though. I get angry because I have something I care about, but you’re never even upset. Don’t you have something you care about too? Or are you just planning on sitting on your ass in the Military Police like Jean?”

You scoffed. “As if I’d ever make the top ten…” and then, you sighed. “I care about a lot of things. My family, my home…” You paused for a minute and thought, then tried to meet Eren’s gaze more directly. “But I’m not like the people from my town. I don’t have any ambitions, or any direction in life. I don’t know what I want to do, and I’m not good at many things either. I’m just a really, really… average person.”

He looked up at the sky for a second, then back down at you. “So then… why kill titans? Why not set up a bakery or something? Or take up your family’s business? You know how big of a commitment this is.”

You stopped in your tracks for a moment, turning your whole body to face him physically. “But I want my life to mean something more than that.”

A look of shock flashed over his face for a second, before his lips began to form a smile. Shock had transitioned into disbelief, and he chuckled a little.

“You know… you’re not how I thought you would be.”

Confused, you furrowed your brow. “What’s that supposed to mean..?”

He turned away from you towards the other four, who had made some distance ahead of the two of you. 

Your question was ignored.

“Come on. We’ll get lost if we don’t catch up.”

As he walked away from you, you stared. 

This was the first time you had properly gotten to speak with Eren Jaeger…

**and he wasn’t anything like you had expected.**


End file.
